Fast self-test for dengue virus to be introduced in Taiwan this year

Image taken from Pixabay

Taipei, May 3 (CNA) A new device to self-test for dengue and zika viruses in less than 10 minutes will hit the market in Taiwan in August, the company that developed it said Thursday.

The startup medical firm, BluSense Diagnostics, which has bases in both Taipei and Copenhagen, has designed the device to use one drop of blood for the test, its Executive Vice President Jessie Sun (孫偉芸) said.

The blood is analyzed and a positive or negative reading is given in just nine minutes with 90-95 percent accuracy, Sun said.

On average, laboratory testing for dengue infections can take up five hours and require the services of medical professionals, she said.

With the BluBox kit, users can carry out the test themselves with relative ease and obtain laboratory level accuracy, she said.

Dengue has been categorized by the World Health Organization as a serious infectious disease that currently affects more than 120 countries worldwide, Sun noted.

The work by BluSense to develop the test kit was supported under Taiwan's Ministry of Science and Technology's "Germination Program," which provides technical assistance to new startups, with services ranging from product development, and research and development to commercialization.

The program, introduced in 2011, has assisted 146 projects, all of which have reached the commercial market.